Read through the source material entirely. It is important to gather as much information from the piece before beginning the summary, in order to know what ideas are most important to the written work.
Make a list of the main ideas in the written piece. For example, if you have been asked to read about dinosaurs in your encyclopedia, write down each of the section headings that are in bold type. Consider what someone who knows nothing about dinosaurs would want to be informed about. Write down things such as their various types, the time periods they lived and what caused their extinction.
Write down any key terms within the piece that describes the subject. Compose short phrases explaining the key terms after you have compiled your list. For example, if writing about dinosaurs, you might want to include "Skeletons," "Carnivore," and "Herbivore." A written phrase about the term "Carnivore" may appear as "Some dinosaurs, such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex, were meat-eating carnivores."
Arrange the key phrases to compose the summary. Start the summary with a little-known fact about dinosaurs, and end with one as well. Go over the summary to ensure that each of the main ideas and key terms have been described in no more than two sentences. Work in transitional phrases in between the main ideas, such as "In addition," "Also," and "Additionally."